Lt. Doug Miller snapped the clicker on his pocket flashlight, jumped from his golf cart and spotted a tall, skinny man in a pink shirt passed out drunk in Put-in-Bay's DeRivera Park.

A Saturday night patrol shift on Put-in-Bay involves constant circling of the downtown park by police, whether in a cart, squad car, or on foot.

The island village in Ottawa County, nicknamed "The Key West of the North," has a year-round population of just 125, but Tourism Ohio estimates that more than 750,000 people visit Put-in-Bay every year.

With the surge of tourists and the dozens of bars packed into a 1.5-square-mile area, Put-in-Bay police are constantly keeping their eye on the streets, alleyways and park grounds for intoxicated visitors who are a danger to themselves and others, as well as thieves who prey on unsuspecting tourists.

DeRivera Park can be the setting for a lovely moonlight stroll. Or it can be a landing spot for an island visitor who had too much to drink, can't remember where they are and need a place to pass out.

Forget they're in America

"This is Put-in-Bay. Most people don't think it's America any more. They're on vacation," Miller said, as he talked about public urination on the island and his officers' constant vigilance to keep such activity under control.

The passed-out man in the park started his day at Put-in-Bay with friends but ended up alone until police found him with his eyes closed and head down, sitting against one of the park's old-growth shade tree.

His shirt was misbuttoned and his jeans were unzipped, exposing his genitalia.

The man stood up, unsteady on his feet, eyes glazed over, as Miller and two other Put-in-Bay police officers approached him.

The man, who said he was from New London, searched for an explanation as Miller asked for identification, who he was with, and whether he had a ticket to get home.

"This is my second time at Put-in-Bay. I'm kind of lost, to be honest," the man said, fumbling through his wallet for a ferry ticket.

Put-in-Bay's 50 or so bars are concentrated in a two-block area known as the Village.

The police station house, in walking distance of the vast majority of those bars, has two cells that can hold three to four people each.

Saturday nights, Put-in-Bay police officers generally see a high number of incidents involving intoxicated bar patrons, open container violations, public urination and domestic verbal disputes.

Put-in-Bay police officers discuss an OVI case that happened earlier in the night on Saturday, August 12.(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger)

'The alcohol issue'

To better patrol the Village and South Bass Island, the department has brought in veteran officers from Cuyahoga County and other agencies to complement its younger patrolmen.

In the past, Miller said, "we had too many rookies and not enough veteran guys to lead them."

To handle the surge of partyers, the department started bike patrols this summer, uses plainclothes officers, and got new body cameras at the end of July, the lieutenant said.

By 9 p.m. on a recent Saturday, Miller and his colleagues had responded to several calls, including an intoxicated woman who fell and broke her nose.

"Most of those things are attributed to the alcohol issue," Miller said, as he motored away from the Jet Express ferry dock in his police golf cart.

Golf carts zipped in and out of traffic through Put-in-Bay's Village. So did bicycles, taxis, mopeds, kids on skateboards, people running from bar to bar, and shuttles from island hotels.

There are three P-I-B police cars that patrol the Village and Put-in-Bay Township. Miller said the department also responds to EMS calls if an officer is available.

He compared his golf cart — with a slightly cracked windshield, courtesy of a collision — as equivalent to a motorcycle. Compared to a police cruiser, it allows for better visibility and awareness of what's going on in the park and sidewalks, Miller said.

Misdemeanor crimes are handled on South Bass Island. Felonies are adjudicated in Put-in-Bay Township or through Ottawa County's court system, Miller said.

Every once in a while, if there's too many people to hold in the cells, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office will send a boat to take prisoners to the mainland.

Miller returned to the Put-in-Bay station house around 10:15 for a quick coffee break just as EMS personnel arrived.

A driver charged earlier with OVI and failure to control had a head gash, and the EMS crew came to get an update on the man's condition. He refused treatment.

Put-in-Bay police officers question a tourist at the Biergarten bar after he fell asleep at a table on Saturday, August 12. The man, who said it was his anniversary, was allowed to leave after his wife came to get him.(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger)

Pedal-powered pub

As Miller grabbed a cup of coffee, a rolling pub loaded with a dozen women pedaling to power the vehicle passed by the station house.

"Don't stop, make it pop, deejay blow my speakers up," the women sang at the top of their lungs as Miller finished his coffee.

Miller has worked in Put-in-Bay for two years. His colleague, Cpl. David Cimperman, is working his first summer in Put-in-Bay.

"Something they would never do at home they would think is OK here," Cimperman said, as he patrolled the outer edges of the township before making his way back to the Village.

Cimperman went by the Miller Ferry dock as a call came over his squad car radio alerting all units to a public urination complaint by Mojito Bay on Catawba Avenue.

It was a slow Saturday night, Cimperman said. On a really busy Saturday, the entire bay is filled with boats and bar patrons line both sides of the street and fill up DeRivera Park.

Stragglers who don't catch the last ferry typically sit on the park's benches and wait for the first boat to arrive in the morning.

"There's really not a whole lot of things they can do if they miss the ferry," Cimperman said.

As he circled around the block, Cimperman stopped at the Biergarten to assist two officers as they responded to a call of an intoxicated male.

A man wearing a blue Eddie Bauer T-shirt had trouble staying awake and keeping his head up at the Biergarten bar.

Staff promptly called the police.

"He's so drunk he's having a problem taking care of himself," Cimperman said, as he watched the man drop his phone while trying to make another call at the bar.

As the clock hit midnight, the man stumbled down a railed walkway and the officers led him to a nearby picnic table.

"You're at the bar," one officer told the man as he struggled to dial his phone.

Cimperman stood by patiently as officers quizzed the man on why he couldn't reach his wife.

She finally showed up, saving her husband from an arrest. She thanked officers and led her spouse toward the Jet Express dock a block away.

Lt. Doug Miller, a supervisor with the Put-in-Bay Police Department, said most of the village's police calls have to do with "the alcohol issue."(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger)

Police use 'verbal judo'

Even on a slow Saturday, Miller still makes multiple quick interactions with visitors as he drives by popular nightspots.

"Headlights! Headlights! That's a better way to travel," Miller tells the driver of another golf cart, who apologizes and quickly flips his lights on.

The lieutenant stopped briefly to check on a woman crying as she looked into her phone.

"Why are you crying? Do you need a ride somewhere? Boyfriend issue?" Miller asked as the woman nodded at the last question but declined a ride.

"Verbal judo" is used to get what officers need in terms of compliance and keeping order on busy nights, Miller said. De-escalation techniques are the key to cooling people down when they're revved up and ready to brawl.

Miller said he tries to emphasize to officers the importance of visibility and interacting with people on the streets.

"Who's getting married?" he asked a group of four women wearing wedding veils.

The prospective bride asked Miller where they should go for their celebration.

"I like '90s," she said, drawing a smile from the lieutenant.

During repeated loops around the Village, Miller told several people in golf carts to keep moving after they parked in front of a bar, waiting for patrons or friends.

After a brief break, Miller walked around some of the Village's alleyways, shining a flashlight into hidden spots to make sure no one had passed out.

He passed through DeRivera Park, interrupted a domestic dispute to make sure everyone was OK, checked on two uniformed officers, then returned to his golf cart.

Miller again approached the man who had passed out in the park, putting his verbal judo skills to another test.

The lieutenant told the man that his zipper was down. He asked him to call his sister and see if he could connect with her.